Refrigerated case



May 21, 1940- M. D. MacMAsTER REFRIGERATED CASE Filed March 23, 1939 `|NVENTOR MAL coLM 'a MAC/1145752.

BY MM.

ATTORNEY i Partenterl May 21 ,1940

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REFR'IGERATED* CASE Malcolm D. MacMaster, Yardley, Pa., assignor to C. V. Hill & Company, Inc., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 23, 19:59, serial No. 263,641 5 Claims. (Cl. 62-103) My ,invention relates to refrigerated cases or other constructions having one or more doors providing access to na refrigerateld 'space and particularly to constructions which serve to prew vent m'oisture condensing upon elements ad- `jacent the vdoor from. falling downward onto articles within the case.

In refrigerated cases and particularly cases of the display type one or more Cooling coils are w usually located in the upper portion of the case,

so that Warm air passing upward in the case will be cooled and circulated downward over the 'ar-l ticles to loe preserved. Baffle members are often located adjacent the coils to direct the flow of air within the case and' to shield the coil from view. The doors provided at the rear of the case to permit access to the refrigerated space usually extend upward to a point adjacent the cooling coil With the result that when opened Warm moist air comes into contact with the cold upper portion of the door frame and the bafiie members or other elements located adjacent the cooling con and the air is so chmed that a deposits moisture on the cold elements. Thereafter the moisture collects in drops along the lower edges of the door frame and on the baflles or other elements and either drips off or is shairen off on closing the door or when the case is otherwise jarred. This is particularly ohjectionable W, when the case is so formed that the rear doors are inclined or extend forward over articles within the case since the drops of water falli'ng onto the articles may injure or contaminate them and render them unfit for sale or use.

In accordance with 'my invention these objections to constructions of the prior art are overcome' by providing means which serve to conduct moisture collecting upon elements adjacent the cooling coils and door away from the oil* elements and to a drip pan located heneath the cooling coil or to any other suitable receiving means. Preferably the means employed also serves as a bailie and is positioned 'with an upper f portion beneath a portion of the door frame and a lower portioni above the drip pan so as to conduct water falling upon or flowing over the hehe to the drip pan. i

One of the objects of my invention is to elim` w inate the falling of drops of moisture from elements located near a cooling coii and adjacent' a door in a refrlgerated case onto objects being preserved Vand located beneath said elements.

Another object of my invention is to provide w adisplay case having a cooling coil with a drip pan beneath the same with a balile for conducting liquids to said drip pan.

A further object of my invention is to provide a display case having doors to permit access thereto with means located beneath .the upper U edge of the door frame for collecting moisture condensing thereon on 'opening of the door.

These and other objects and features of my invention will appear from the following description thereof .in which referencer is made to the figures of the accompanyingdrawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof -as applied to a refrigerated display case.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a Vertical sectional' view of a refrigerw ated display case embodying my invention, and

Fig. 2 is a perspective of a portion of a display case embodying the construction illustrated in Fig. 1. v In the construction illustrated a refrigeratedvm display case is provided with Cooling coils 2 having fins fii and located near the top of the case in position to cool Warm air circulating over' the same and cause it to flow downwardly through the case. Sliding doors 3 and lt are provided 25 forpermitting access to the'refrigerated space within the case and are movable longitudinally of an upper frame member lt provided with guide rails lt and IB. This construction is preferably of the type described and claimed in the w copending application of Cyrus F. Hoilman, Se'- rial No. 180,567, filed December 18,' 1937. The portion ll ofthe frame is inclined at a steep angle and may be substantially Vertical and for this reason any moisture collecting upon the 35 frame tends to flow downward toward the lower extremity 'it of the frame.

Beneath the cooling coils 2 and fins t are located drip pans 22 which preferably are of the type shown and described in my copending ap- 4m plication Serial No. 263,634, filed March 23; 193g,

and are inclined lengthwise of the-case to conduct liquid falling from the iins during the ohcycle of operation to the ends of the case where it may he discharged in any suitable manner. A 'oafile number mi is located near the front of the case and spaced from the flns t and drip paris 22 so as to cause Warm air to flow upward outside the bae into contact with the coils and to 'allow cool air to flow downwarcl over the adjacent edge of the' front drip pan 32 into the lower portion of the case. o A baflie member it is located in the rearv of the cooling coil and isl positioned with the upper portion thereof extending beneath' the lower extremity 20 of the 55 frame portion IS whereas the lower edge of the baflle 26 extends ove'r the edge of the rear drip climates.

pan 22 to discharge any liquid flowing downward over the same into the drip pan. The baffle 2G is formed with openings 28 therethrough to allow warm air flowing upward adjacent the doors to pass through the bafiie to the cooling coils 2 and over` the fins 4. Thelower extremity of the bafile is also provided with a downwardly turned lip 3B which serves to prevent drops fiowing down the inner surface of the baflie from swinging outward over the edge of the drip pan under-the action of the surface tension which causes the drops to tend to adhereto the edge .of 'the baiiie.

With this' construction' the dripping of liquid from the lower extremity of the frame is rendered unobjectionable since the liquid falls upon the baflie member 26 and is conducted thereby to the drip pan so as to be discharged from ythe case. At the same time any moisturelcollecting upon the outer surface of the baffie 26 will flow downward upon this surface adhering to the baiiie until,

it passes into the drip pan 22.

It will be noted that thebafile 24 at 'the front of the case does not extend over the drip pan as does the rear baffle 26. However this is`unnecessary in most cases since the moisture content of the air within the case -is generally so low that the difiicuities presented by usweating do not occur at. the front of the case. On the other hand the depo'siting of moisture from warm air which enters the case at the rear thereo-f on opening the doors is much more serious and difl'icult to overcome, particularly in warm moist The construction described above and shown in the drawing overcome these objections and eliminate all danger of injuring or spoiling articles within the case by the dripping of moisture thereon.

While I have shown and described a typical embodiment of my invention it will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications may be made in the form and arrangement of the various elements of the combination and therefore it should be understood that th'e construction herein described and shown in the drawing are intended to be illustrative of my invention and are not intended to limit the' scope thereof.

I claim: v

1. In a refrigerated display case having a cooling coil located in the upper portion thereof, the combination of a door permitting access to the space within the case and a frame engageable by said door, the upper portion of said frame being located adjacent said cooling coil and a baflle located adjacent said coil and beneath the edge of said portion of said frame in position to resaid door, the upper portion of said frame being located adjacent said cooling coil and a bafile located adjacent saidl coil and beneath the edge of said portion ofsaid frame in position to receive moisture dripping from said upper portion of said frame, said baffle being spaced from said frame and provided with openings therethrough to permit ready circulation of air about and through the same to said cooling coil. 1

3. In a refrigerated case having a door providing access to the interior of said case, a frame for said door a' cooling coil located near the 'top of said case and adjacent the upper portion of said frame, and a drip pan beneath the cooling coil the combination of a baflie member located adjacent said coil and having the upper edge thereof beneath the upper edge of said frame and the lower edge thereof over said drip pan in position to direct condensate from said frame and baffle to said'drip pan.

4. In a refrigerated display case having a cooling coil locatedin the upper portion thereof, the

combination of a door permitting access to the space within the case and a f'rame engageable by said door, the upper portion of said door and frame being located adjacent said cooling coil, a drip pan beneath said coil, a baiiie located on that side of the coil remote from said door and iriclined outwardly at the bottom to permit air to flow downward between the lower edges of said baiiie and said drip pan, and a bailie located on that side of the coil adjacent the door and inclined inwardly over said drip pan to conduct liquid to said drip pan.

5. In a refrigerated display case having a cooling coil located in the upper` portion thereof, the combination of door permitting access to the space within the case and a frame engageable by saiddoor, the upper portion of said door and frame being located adjacent said cooling coil,

a drip pan beneath said coil, a bafiie located on.

that side of the coil remote from said door and ,inclined outwardly at the bottom to permit air to fiow downward between the lower edge ofv ing inclined inwar/dly over said drip pan tocon- ,u

duct liquid to said drip pan.

MALCOLM D. MACMAS'I'ER. 

